Pick Me Up When Lights Go Out
by Lizicia
Summary: 'In all the mayhem with the man in the yellow suit, Caitlin has almost forgotten that it's Christmas but she remembers just what she was doing when she saw Ronnie.' Or, Dr. Wells receives his Christmas present. Post-1x10, Caitlin/Wells friendship.


**A/N: A small coda for 1x10 which just wouldn't leave me alone.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**Spoilers for 1x10!**

* * *

In all the mayhem with the man in the yellow suit, Caitlin has almost forgotten that it's Christmas but when Joe extends her and Cisco the invitation to join them for a party – and plenty of bourbon-laced eggnog, just what she likes to hear – she also remembers just what she was doing when she saw Ronnie.

So she grabs her bag and makes her way to Dr. Wells' office.

"I'll catch up with you later," she explains to Cisco before he manages to ask anything and he merely nods, understanding what she's doing.

His old office is at the far end of the corridor that isn't in use anymore but Caitlin knows that he still likes to sit there from time to time, especially when he wants to be alone.

The door is open, so she knocks on the frame and Wells raises his head from whatever he was reading on his desk. She can tell that her presence surprises him.

"Caitlin. Is everything alright?"

She takes it as her cue to walk in and comes to a stand before his desk. "Detective West has been kind enough to invite us all over for Christmas dinner and something called Grandma Esther's eggnog which is promised to be spectacular. I know you don't drink and drive but maybe you could make an exception?"

He smiles at her throwback to his previous excuse for leaving their small party at the lab. "That is very nice of him indeed. But I don't quite feel up for it tonight."

"How _do_ you feel?"

"Better, now that I'm all patched up. You did a good job with that."

She smiles but doesn't really want to take the compliment; there should've been no reason for her to be patching up anyone tonight, least of all Dr. Wells. She is starting to understand the risks Felicity talked about, risks she always considers as well but with Barry, while she always worries for him and doesn't want him to get hurt, she at least knows that he'll heal and fast. With anyone else, they are still human, Dr. Wells is still only human and she didn't like feeling helpless when she could hear the man in the yellow suit physically attack him.

"Caitlin? You did nothing wrong today."

He startles her out of her thoughts and it's as if he understood implicitly what she didn't say. He looks at her for a long moment, just as piercingly and captivatingly as he did when he promised her that he would help Ronnie and she can't look away.

"I must confess, I didn't expect this confrontation to end the way it did but to be truthful, I wasn't sure what to expect. How do you disarm a man faster than the fastest man we know? We managed to contain him but I was too brash in my estimations of how much the police could really do, or how efficient the force field would be. But you did nothing wrong; neither you or Cisco."

"I don't like it when people get hurt. It's a lot to handle when Barry goes out but I know he'll always manage to win. But to consider that all of this put everyone else at risk and that you got hurt, is just terrible."

He nods and shrugs his shoulders. "I think we will get nowhere if we try to figure out how everyone could've or should've acted. What matters is that we know more about him now and that everyone is safe in the end."

"What about the tachyon prototype? He got away with it."

"That is unfortunate. And we don't know what he'll use it for or if we'll see him again but I guess we just have to be prepared."

A silence descends upon them as Caitlin processes all the implications of a super-fast meta-human possessing a powerful prototype of a possible weapon. Not one of those implications can be good.

"And how are _you_, Caitlin? It must be quite difficult, knowing that Ronnie is alive, with all that you've been through."

She feels her throat clog as he mentions Ronnie's name and she can see his face again, can almost hear him tell her to stay away and never look for him again. She doesn't know quite what to feel about her fiancé who is not dead but is apparently a meta-human who can burst into flames.

"I want to help him, even if he doesn't know that he needs or wants our help. But I don't want to contain him in our prison. He deserves more."

Wells regards her carefully and she knows he's about to say something hard to hear. "They all do, Caitlin. Not one of them chose this existence but what they do with it is more important. Some become like Barry, better for it, while others may be beyond our help."

And it's not that she hasn't considered this herself, that she doesn't realize that Ronnie may not exist anymore as the man she loves whole-heartedly but she doesn't want to give up on him, not if there are still other avenues to try.

"But. Like I told you, I will do everything in my power to help him. I just want you to be prepared for the possibility that it might not work."

His words are harsh but honest and while the truth makes her flinch – and the idea of Barry having to take Ronnie down makes her queasy – she appreciates his honesty, just like she always has.

She surreptitiously wipes the moisture from the corner of her eyes and nods. "Yeah, I know that."

"You should go to that party, Caitlin. It will be good for you."

Oh, the party. She had almost forgotten but that also reminds her of the real reason she came to see him in the first place.

"I..._we_ got you something." She reaches into her bag and pulls out a neatly wrapped gift and places it on his desk.

Wells eyes the package and then her. "That is very kind of you, Caitlin."

"Yeah, it's from me and Cisco and-and, Barry."

He takes it in his hands and shakes it gently, just like he did with Barry's gift, prompting her to smile at his almost childlike behavior.

"Well, it's not soft, so you didn't get me socks, and it doesn't make any discernible noise."

He breaks through the seal and when Caitlin gives him a surprised look, smiles. "I was the kid that got up at 3 A.M. to check for presents."

When he's finished with unwrapping it, he almost chuckles. "_The Particle at the End of the Universe_. Interesting choice."

She doesn't know if that's a good thing or not and the explanation sort of blurts out of her. "I didn't know what kind of literature you like but that seemed like a good fit, given that you're a particle physicist and well, the other choice was Stephen Hawking's new autobiography but I know how you feel about him."

He does laugh at that and nods. "Yes, I think you do. It is a lovely gift. Thank you, Caitlin."

He looks around them and gestures apologetically. "I'm not a Christmas person, so this is a bit embarrassing but I didn't consider to get any of you something which was foolish."

She smiles and stands to leave. "It's alright. You promised to do what you can for Ronnie and that's more than enough."

"Okay." He nods and smiles in return. "I hope you have a great party. See you tomorrow. And Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Dr. Wells."


End file.
